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Behavioural Assessment For The Palace Of Westminster

19Jul2017

Contracts awarded to help ensure safe and secure future of Palace of Westminster

Today the Houses of Parliament Restoration & Renewal programme has appointed two partners to support them in architectural and programme management services needed for the restoration and renewal of this iconic, World Heritage site. BDP and CH2M have been selected following a procurement process run by Parliament and which included behavioural assessment – a first for the Palace of Westminster.

B2B were selected as the behavioural assessment consultants to support the Houses of Parliament team in delivering this most unique behavioural assessment.

Behavioural Assessment Reaches New Heights!

Most major infrastructure, or complex, contracts awarded in the UK now include some form of ‘behavioural assessment’ as key feature of the partner selection process where collaboration skills or culture fit, or other key behavioural competences, are evaluated to ensure the work is delivered successfully and with the maximum of effective collaboration.

Following delivery by the B2B team of behavioural assessments for some of the largest profile projects in the UK - London Olympics Delivery Partner, Thames Tideway Tunnels and HS2 2015-2017 and many others, the House of Parliament Restoration & Renewal project adopted behavioural assessment to test potential key partners behavioural competences to support the programme. The behaviours of the teams will have an impact on restoring and renewing probably the most well-known, and most iconic buildings, in the world –the Palace of Westminster.

The Palace of Westminster is home to one of the busiest parliamentary institutions in the world, more than a million people visit each year and millions more tourists visit it. The Palace is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site that also incorporates Westminster Abbey and other irreplaceable buildings. The complex contains a mix of ancient and modern structures and is home to a significant collection of works of art, archives and furnishings.

B2B: Behavioural Assessment Consultants to the Houses of Parliament

Following a competitive process, B2B were selected to be the behavioural consultants for a two-year contract which aims to support the selection of partners starting with the architectural and building design, and programme management services partners.

B2B Director John Doyle said on appointment…. ‘We are delighted to be supporting the Palace of Westminster in this nationally critical project’. ‘Behavioural assessment is about establishing the fit between organisations and testing critical competences, values and behaviours which promote trust between people. The B2B team are proud to have supported many nationally critical projects in the past and are particularly pleased to be trusted with this one’.

Behavioural Assessment Delivered to International Standards

To be an effective and reliable assessment it is critical to adhere to recognised standards. There is only one internationally recognised and verifiable standard for behavioural assessment – ISO 10667- 2 the ‘international standard for behavioural assessment of people in work and organisational settings’. The ISO standard is an evidenced based approach to behavioural assessment and can be used for individuals, teams and organisations. Along with our work in supporting Hs2 in 19 separate behavioural assessments, the Palace of Westminster behavioural assessment was amongst the first two behavioural assessments in the World to be delivered in full compliance to the ISO behavioural assessment standard.

B2B Director John Doyle said ‘Although all stages of the ISO process for the development and delivery of the behavioural assessment are important, in this project there were two critical elements: engagement of key stakeholders from the Palace in identifying the right behavioural criteria to test potential partners for operating in this unique environment, and developing specific behavioural challenges to test the tenderer teams'.

Tim Leach, Architect Director at BDP, said: “It’s an enormous privilege for the practice to be entrusted with helping to safeguard the Palace of Westminster, this international symbol of democracy and our society’s shared values. This new programme of work presents the unique and very special challenge of responding to the needs of Parliament and its visitors, and conserving its historic fabric for this and all future generations.”

Jonathan Baker, Managing Director of the National Governments client sector at CH2M said: “We are delighted to have been named as the provider of programme, project and cost services for this important work. CH2M has a strong record of delivering solutions for complex and challenging programmes and we are honoured to be working in collaboration with the Restoration and Renewal Team to help preserve and enhance the use of the Palace for future generations.”

Brian Finnimore, Managing Director of Parliament’s Strategic Estates team, said: “We are delighted to be making these contract announcements today, as an important step towards our goal of preserving the Palace of Westminster for future generations. We look forward to working with BDP and CH2M to ensure the Palace remains safe and secure for the more than a million people, including 100,000 schoolchildren, who visit Parliament each year.”